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Saturday, May 23, 2015

Q & A With Love, California Style Series Author, Ellen Butler

Congratulations to "Colleen C.", the winner in Ellen's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!

•How long have you been writing?I’m relatively new to novel writing. My first publication came out at the end of 2013, and I’ll have five publications out by the end of 2015. Though novel writing is certainly new to me, writing in general is not. Before stepping into fiction, I wrote dry, but illuminating policy papers, articles, newsletters, and promotional copy for a medical association. I would have to say, a creative writing class that I took in college stuck with me over the years and was part of the reason I made the leap to novel writing. •Are you working on anything new right now that you can share with us? I have just completed the third book in the Love, California Style series, titled Art of Affection which will be releasing August 24. Beyond that, I will be returning to a book that I’ve been actively researching for the past two years. It is a WWII novel about a female American spy who goes behind enemy lines and entrenches herself in the dangerous heart of Nazi territory. I hope to have it in my agent’s hands by spring 2016. •How do you come up with the titles for your novels?It’s funny you ask, titles are very difficult for me. Normally, I stew and chew on a title name for days, sometimes months. However, books 2 &3 of the Love, California Style trilogy had me dithering with names for a short twenty-four hours because my agent needed me to title all of the books in order to pitch the series to publishers. I’d only completed the first novel, had just begun the second, and really hadn’t fleshed out the third beyond a sloppy outline. I named the first one Heart of Design, based on the fact that, Sophie, the main character was an interior designer. So sticking with the profession of my heroines, I came up with Planning for Love, because Poppy is a party planner, and Art of Affection came about since Holly is an art curator at a gallery. So far I’ve been lucky all of my titles have been accepted by my publishers without changes. •If your novels were made into a movie, who would you cast as the hero?For Heart of Design, Ian O’Conner was inspired by Alex O’Loughlin so he’s a shoe-in. In Planning for Love, I think Ryan Reynolds would be a good fit for Adam’s intelligence and kindness. Art of Affection is a hard one, but I think Jeremy Renner would fit Gary Sumner’s tough cop character. •Coffee or tea?Tea … unless wine is an option.Giveaway:One reader will receive a digital copy of Heart of Design and Planning for Love!

~Love, California Style Series ~

Heart of Design (Book 1) His thumb gently stroked the soft flesh. I swallowed. “I would say you’re making a valiant effort to get me into your bed.”“Maybe.” His eyes smoldered. “Is it working?”Can Interior Designer Sophie Hartland ignore her traitorous libido and hold her sexy Irish client, Ian O’Connor, at arm’s length until the renovations are finished? Or will she cave in to his pull on her heartstrings, and end up doing the knicky-knacky on the new velvet sofa? Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ok4ta3kBN: http://tinyurl.com/ofktptxPlanning for Love (Book 2)So, my latest computer date was supposed to be a successful marketer. He instead decided to visit an Ashram last week, and while there, apparently found the meaning of life through yoga and wacky tobacky. After walking in on her boyfriend in flagrante dilecto, Poppy Reagan decides to take her dating life as seriously as she does her party planning business. As she works her way through a string of hilariously bad dates, she wonders if her soulmate actually lives in California. Her foolish emotional spirit secretly yearns for the handsome Ohio doctor she met last year. Can Adam convince this California girl to test the relationship waters in the mid-West? Amazon: http://tiny.cc/bp42sxB&N: http://tiny.cc/uq42sx

Art of Affection (Book 3) – Arriving August 24, 2015“By the way, those were some sexy thigh highs you were wearing.” He winked. Mortification burned through me as the door shut with a thump.Holly Hartland, a transplant to the LA area, recently finalized her divorce from an abusive husband and is getting her career as an art gallery curator back on track. She soon realizes the tough cop who arrested her husband wants more than friendship. Will she give love another go, or will trust issues keep these two apart?Find Ellen Butler:Website: www.ellenbutler.netTwitter: @EButlerBooksFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllenButlerBooksGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/EllenButlerBooks

Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST May 24th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

I really like the blurbs for your books Heart of Design and Planning for Love. I appreciate the chance to win them. I like to post reviews and they sound like they would be pretty easy to review so that's a bonus for me.

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